Montevideo, a fascinating seaside city is our next stop on Steve’s Excellent South American Adventure as they say. I love the idea of a large city facing the sea. It faces the Rio Plate which is the world’s widest river with Argentina on the opposite side. It is 140 miles (220 kilometers) at its widest. The city founded in 1724 contains about 1/2 of the population of Uruguay. After several tumultuous periods, democratic rule seemed to settle in by the 1980s.
Free City Walking Tour
We decided to take a free city walking tour of the compact Ciudad Viejo areas. The tour started at the Plaza Independencia which is in front of the gate to the Ciudad Viejo (Old Town) barrio. The plaza contains a Monument to General Jose Artigas (the father of Uruguayan nationhood) as well as his mausoleum underneath. Please click on the below banner for other Montevideo tour options.
Facing the plaza are many prominent buildings among them the Palacio Salvo (1928). This is one of the strangest high-rise buildings ever constructed. and stands 312 ft. (95m) and was originally meant to be a hotel. It is now a mixture of offices and apartments as well as a tango museum.
Palacio Salvo, a most unusual building
Another interesting building is the Teatro Solis (1856) which is Uruguay’s most important theatre. Unfortunately, we did not get to see any performances due to being there in the summer which is off-season for theatre.
Also, interesting was Palacio Estevez (1873) which held the presidential office from 1890 until 1985 when President Sanguinetti moved the seat of executive power to the Liberty Building. Afterward, it became a museum housing artifacts and mementos of the Uruguayan presidency and its office holders. Now the Presidency occupies the nearby Executive Tower.
Ciudad Viejo
Moving on in Cidudad Viejo, we came upon the Plaza de la Constitution (1726) which is the oldest city square. The plaza has two prominent buildings facing it. One is the Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral (1804) which is the seat of the Montevideo Archdiocese. Directly across on the other side of the plaza is the Cabildo de Montevideo which was used as the government house during the colonial time of the Viceroyalty. Today it is a museum and houses the historical archives of the city.
We finished up the tour at the Mercado del Puerto which is an outstanding 19th-century structure filled with busy shops and restaurants. This is quite a colorful place.
All of this makes Montevideo, a fascinating seaside city.
Bus Trip to Punta del Este
A Nice Day Trip from Montevideo
Nothing like hitting the beach. There is a world-class resort not too far away. We took a bus to the internationally known resort of Punta del Este. This is quite the place to visit with its nice buildings and sandy beaches. About 87 miles east of Montevideo, it takes about 2 hours by bus from the Montevideo Central Bus Station known as (popularly as The Tres Cruces). The beach is a good way to cool off on a warm summer day.
The icon of Punta del Este is La Mano de Punta del Este (1982) or the Hand of Punta del Este. The sculptor is Mario Irarrazabal. Everyone including myself wants to take a picture of La Mano.
La Mano de Punta del Este
The Aloft Hotel
The Aloft Hotel ( part of the Marriott family) was a nice place to spend during our stay in Montevideo. It is directly across from the Punta Carretas Shopping Mall. https://www.puntacarretas.com.uy/The mall had some nice eating establishments including Don Peperone which made a nice pizza for us. Nearby was the upscale Garcia Restaurant where we celebrated Valentine’s Day. I had a great Rack of Lamb. Please visit Booking.com as I do to address your hotel and other needs. Save, save, and save. Next, on to Buenos Aires https://travelswithsteve.com/buenos-aires-the-beautiful-port-and-capital-city/for the last leg of our South American trip.
